Gold Fibre
by MystiiriousAbnormality
Summary: Hikigaya, now a third year high school student, decides to try a bit harder at finding his 'genuine' thing. Will a chance encounter help him along the way?
1. Sleep Problems

**First and foremost, if this story seems familiar, that's because it may very well be. I posted the first chapter of this on my other account, over a year ago (the one I was using when I didn't have access to this one). Now I'm trying to transfer all of those stories to this account so things are a little more convenient.**

 **For those of you following me as an author and were hoping this was an update to one of my other stories, sorry. I've been in a bit of a writing slump lately, but I've been having fun writing chapters for this story. Hopefully that will rub off on my other stories as time goes by.**

 **Anyway, please enjoy.**

 **All Encompassing Story Disclaimer: I don't own Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Comedy wa Machigatteiru.**

* * *

 **Gold Fibre  
**

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 **Sleep Problems**

 **...**

To quote Ernest Hemingway, "I love sleep. My life has the tendency to fall apart when I'm awake, you know?"

Indeed, when I'm asleep, I don't need to worry about anything. I don't need to be aware of my surroundings, because I'm unconscious. I don't need to pay attention to anything, because my subconscious mind pays attention to whatever the hell it wants to. I don't need to feel anything.

But, I do feel you, Ernest; I feel you. Or do you prefer Mr. Hemingway?

Regardless, I just had to remember you, didn't I?

"Dammit..."

It happens from time to time; no matter how hard I try, I just can't seem to fall asleep. Although, for the past year or so, it hasn't been happening all that often. I let out a long, annoyed sigh after looking at my alarm clock. It read: 1:37 AM.

Even though I usually stay up until at least eleven, anything past one in the morning is just too much for me to handle. I like my sleep, after all. Deciding I've done enough tossing and turning for one night, I sit up, sighing once again. Forcing myself out of bed, I walk downstairs, trying to be as quiet as possible. The stairs seemed to have a grudge against me, though, as every step I took, a loud creak would accompany it under my weight. Eventually, I managed to make my way down to the front door.

Slipping on a pair of shoes, I open the door and make my way to the street. On these rare occasions where I just can't seem to fall asleep, a quick walk around the neighborhood tends to do the trick.

Walking along, I close my eyes for a few seconds, taking in the sounds and smells of the very early morning. Not much was going on, of course, but there was an occasional car that passed by and a few stray cats here and there. Other than that, it was a ghost town.

My neighborhood was usually pretty quiet, though. I can't even remember the last time I heard about a crime happening in the area. The night here is always peaceful. There are no night clubs to cause an uproar, and no college kids to throw parties. The night in this neighborhood holds nothing but peace and quiet.

As I passed a small bridge at the very edge of my neighborhood, I saw someone I never would have imagined seeing. However, not wanting to deal with her at the moment, I continued on as if I never saw her. I need to be calm if I ever want to fall asleep tonight, right? And dealing with her of all people would just make it more difficult for me to experience the sweet embrace of my pillow.

"Hey, Hikio?"

Gah... Is it so wrong to want to walk around the neighborhood in the middle of the night without any disturbances? Why didn't I turn right at the last street? Allowing myself a moment to sigh, I turn around and face her.

"O-Oh, Miura. Good morning."

Turning back around, I attempt to scurry away before she decided to strike up a conversation. Wait, scurry? What am I, a cockroach?

Before I could even continue that thought, or more importantly, continue my scurrying, she spoke up again.

"Were you seriously gonna just walk right by me!? What's up with that?" she said in obvious annoyance.

If it were last year, I'd still be scared of this woman. Being a third year now, my fear of her subsided quite a bit. Soon enough, high school would be a thing of the past. That being said, she can still be overwhelming from time to time, but I've gotten rather used to her since this year. After all, in my current class, Miura and I are the only ones from our previous year. Oh, wait. Ooka and Yamato were in our class, too. I keep forgetting they even exist.

How pitiable; even someone as forgettable as me forgot about those two.

Even though I still wasn't comfortable talking to her, it was early in the morning and I wanted at least a few hours of sleep tonight, so I really wasn't in the mood. In fact, I might just be too irritable to even care about her ferocity.

"Huh? What else was I supposed to do?" I said with annoyance lacing my own voice.

"You could've at least said hello or something, you know?" she said, irritation evident on her moonlit face.

"Why would I do that? We're not that close, and we hardly ever speak."

"W-Well, this is a weird situation, right? I mean, how often do you see a classmate on the street at two in the morning?" she said in a hurry. Maybe my statement caught her off guard?

"Hmm... Well I guess you have a point. At the same time, though, normally if I randomly greet someone on the street, I get called a creep." Maybe it's because of my lack of sleep, but I just couldn't help but make that last comment.

"That's not... well."

Hah! It seems you understand that much, at least.

"I think it's different in these circumstances," she said in a rather timid voice that was _very_ uncharacteristic for her. I wonder if she's more tired than she's letting on.

"Maybe, but if you were me, I bet you would have done the same thing." Why would I go out of my way to greet someone who barely acknowledges my existence?

Miura was quiet for a moment before changing topics. "Anyway, what are you doing up this late?"

"I could ask you the same thing. It's dangerous for a young woman like yourself to be walking around this late." Seriously, it's dangerous! Shouldn't you have a little more common sense, Miura?

"Huh? But I live right there," she said, turning and pointing to a house close by. Wait, for real? Who would have ever thought that the Queen of Fire lives so close to me?

"S-Still, it's not safe..." Even if she does live a stones throw away, it's still dangerous for someone as attractive as her to be out at this hour. Just because crime doesn't happen often in this area, that doesn't mean there aren't people who are capable of it around here.

"Whatever," she mumbled, "Now, answer my question."

That fierce glare. That fiery tone. That annoyed expression.

That's the Miura Yumiko I know.

"I couldn't sleep. Walking around helps," I said. A simple answer is all she needed from me.

After saying that, her glare seemed to lose a bit of its intensity. Only a bit, though. After a few more seconds, she turned her attention to the small stream flowing beneath the bridge.

"Same with me," she said in almost a whisper, "When I can't sleep or when I'm upset, I come here at night. It's calming."

Whoa! Hold on, Miura! Don't start reminiscing about some old memory while I'm around. That could be rather dangerous for my poor little heart.

"Ah, is that so."

After a few moments of silence, I started to turn around. "Well, try and get some sleep," I said as I began walking away.

"Goodnight, Hikio."

I didn't turn around, but I could almost hear the reluctance in her voice. Does it really take that much effort to say goodnight to me?

"Goodnight," I offered, raising my hand in a wave. Haah... I guess that walk wasn't too helpful after all.

Trying to clear my head on the way back to my house, I couldn't help but feel that Miura seemed a bit lonely. True, she wasn't with anyone from our previous class, except for the two virgins and myself. But, she still saw her friends almost every day. Most days between classes, Ebina and Yuigahama would swing by the classroom. They'd usually give me a quick greeting before going to talk to Miura. She seemed happy enough, so why did she look so lonely at the same time? Hayama?

No, that can't be it. He comes by the classroom a few times a week to talk to Ooka, Yamato, and Miura. Also, once in a while, she would go to his classroom to talk between breaks. From what Yuigahama tells me during club, Miura's clique still hangs out on a pretty regular basis outside of school. So, what the hell are you so lonely for? You have no right compared to someone like me!

"I guess I'll ask Yuigahama tomorrow..." I mumble to myself as I open the front door to my house.

...

...

...

Once I got to school, I grabbed a can of MAX and made my way to the classroom at a lazy pace. However, Hiratsuka-sensei seemed to have other plans for me. Did I break a comb this morning and forget about it?

"Hikigaya!" she said, rushing over to me. H-Hey, don't do something like that! The police will get involved if the other students start to suspect something indecent is going on between us, you know!

"Come with me," she said with a bright smile, grabbing my arm. Oww! Let go of my arm if you're gonna use that vise grip.

"Oi, Sensei!?" I tried to get her attention, but I got the impression she was purposely ignoring me. Giving in to my fate, I allow her to drag me to wherever she's planning on murde... I mean, taking me.

Rounding a corner, she pulls me into an unused classroom. You know, Sensei, if I were a lesser mortal, I'd definitely be expecting something here. Thinking this, I glanced at her sizable chest, trying to ignore the warm feeling on my cheeks. Luckily for me, the lights were off, so I doubt she had noticed.

"Guess what?" she said with a bit too much excitement in her voice.

Not really understanding what was going on, I just said the first thing that came to mind. "Um, you got yourself a boyfriend?"

"Yes!" she almost yelled. Jeez, woman. At least try to hide how desperate you are for a love life. "Well, we're just going on a date, but I'm getting a really good feeling about him. He could be the one, Hikigaya!" she said with a shy yet hopeful expression.

Cute...

I know I've said this before, but if we were closer in age, I would have fallen for you. Hard.

"Good for you."

"Huh? That's it?" she said in mild confusion.

"What should I be saying?" I said, maybe letting a little of my irritation flow into my tone. Being the rational person that I am, I just can't seem to figure out why this woman, my Sensei, would be this excited to tell me, her student, that she's going on a date.

"No, it's just... I was expecting you to make one of your stupid cynical comments or something."

"Ah, sorry for letting you down, Sensei. I'm feeling a bit tired today."

Wait, if you were expecting something like that, then why did you go out of your way to drag me here?

Sensei... Are you really a masochist?

As I was thinking this, Hiratsuka-sensei seemed to be contemplating my words. When her eyes focused once again, she smiled and turned to the classroom's entrance.

"Anyway, school already started, so lets get you to your class," she said, opening the door. As we walked to my classroom, I noticed a light 'pop' in her step. Just how hard did you fall for this guy, Sensei?

"Why did you tell me?" I said, letting the question that had been nagging my mind escape.

"Huh? I'm allowed to talk to whoever I want." To be honest, that sounded like something a little kid would say.

"That's not what I mean, Sensei. Why did you go out of your way to tell me this morning?"

"Hmm... I wonder," she mumbled with a mischievous grin. Oi, what the hell!? Don't involve me in whatever it is you're plotting! I already have to deal with Isshiki's scheming; I don't need to worry about you on top of that. My Kohai can be a bit too much sometimes.

"How about you, Hikigaya. Have anyone you're interested in?"

Without a seconds thought, I answered, "No. Not at all."

"That so? Well, that's just too bad," she said, a slight knowing smile on her face. What do you know, Sensei? What do you know!?

Just as I was about to say something in response, we arrived at my classroom. Sighing, I opened the door. Class had been started for almost fifteen minutes at this point. Everyone was staring at me.

"Why are you so late?" the Sensei asked. What, you can't even call me by my name? You can't not know what my name is. You grade my papers, after all!

"Sorry. I had some business with him."

"Ah, Hiratsuka-sensei. Very well," the middle aged man said with a bit of annoyance on his face (directed at me, of course). "Take your seat."

I offered him a slight bow and glanced back at Hiratsuka-sensei. With a wink, she smiled at me and closed the door.

Walking to my seat, I scanned the classroom; no one was paying me attention any longer. Just as that thought finished, I made eye contact with Miura. As soon as her gaze registered with me, she turned away with what seemed like a 'hmph'.

Well, sorry for disturbing your studies. Not that you were paying attention to the lesson anyway.

Sitting down, I brought out my study materials and proceeded to stare at the chalkboard. Allowing my mind to wander, as I usually do during math class, I start thinking about what Hiratsuka-sensei might be scheming.

Hold up! Maybe this is why my math grades are so poor...

* * *

 **Breaking a comb is a Japanese superstition for a bad omen.**

 **...**

 **Thanks for reading, everyone! Even though this is just a re-post, I did add a few things. Let me know if you found any grammar or spelling mistakes (shoot me a PM).**

 **I already have the second chapter finished; I'm just polishing it a bit. I'm going to try for a chapter a week, but if I don't make the deadline, please don't hate me!**

 **Again, thanks for reading!**

 **...**

 **-Mystiirious**


	2. Two Days in a Row

**I was going to wait a week before I posted this chapter. But, I figured I'd update early as a last hurrah to 2016.**

 **I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

 **Gold Fibre**

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 **Two Days in a Row**

 **...**

Classes went by a little too slowly for my liking. Math and science classes were a haze, but my other classes were okay, I suppose. Once class had finally ended, I started getting my things together, preparing to leave for the clubroom.

"Hikio."

Turning to the voice, I was surprised to see Miura standing behind me. It's not often the Queen of Fire graces you with her presence during class.

"You need something?"

"Huh? Why would you assume I need something from you?" she said, placing her hands on her hips as her eyebrows knitted in annoyance.

"Like I said last night, we never talk, so what else would it be," I said more than asked.

She huffed before continuing. "We talk once in a while."

Well, I guess she's right. On occasion we'd have to talk during class for school related reasons. But, those were usually one or two word conversations. Other than last night, I can't remember a single time where we've just talked.

Also, don't huff like that; it's kind of cute.

"Anyway, why were you late for class?"

Huh? Why the hell would you care why I was late? We're barely acquaintances, after all. "Hiratsuka-sensei needed to talk to me for a bit."

"Ah, is that it. I thought you might have slept through your alarm or something. Did you end up getting much sleep?" she said, crossing her arms over her chest, causing her decent bust to become a bit more prominent.

Averting my gaze before she notices me looking, I replied, "A few hours. I wouldn't call it restful, though."

"Ah, same for me. I went back to my house after I left, but it still took me a while to fall asleep."

With the way she was crossing her arms and kept glancing around, it was clear she was using quite a bit of energy to force herself to stay in my vicinity. She must be worried about our classmates seeing her talk to someone like me. If you don't want people to see, then why bother talking to me in the first place?

"Is that it? I need to get to club," I say in a dry tone.

She looked away from me with a rather miffed expression. "Yeah, I guess."

You guess? Well, it doesn't matter to me. I turn from her and make my way out of the classroom before she decides to say anything else.

Walking down the hallway, I can't help but wonder what possessed her to talk to me in the first place. Plus, it's not like it was some random place like last night; it was in the classroom with most of our classmates still present. I feel that normally, she wouldn't feel any curiosity at all as to why I was late or how I was doing. Did she feel obligated to talk to me after randomly meeting last night? If so, then she's just deluding herself.

Realizing that I'd made it to my club, I can hear Yuigahama's excited voice through the door. With a slight smile making its way to my lips, I slide the door open and walk in.

Yuigahama turns to the door and smiles at me.

"Hikki!"

"Hello, Hikigaya-kun," Yukinoshita said with a slight nod.

"Yo." And with that, our usual signal to begin club activities, I take my seat and pull out my newest novel.

"Hikki, how was class?"

This was the normal routine at the beginning of club.

"Fine. Nothing special," I said, not even looking away from my book.

"Ah, same for me! Except Ebina..." she began, but I ended up only half listening to her. It's not that I'm being rude, it's just that what Yuigahama normally talks about is either nonsensical, or something I'm just straight up uninterested in.

As I was reading my book and catching a sentence or two from Yuigahama every now and then, my mind began to drift.

"Hikki!"

"Hm?" I turned to the voice I had just heard to see a pouting Yuigahama.

"You, like, totally just nodded off!"

Did I? Well, I wouldn't be surprised. I only got a few hours of sleep last night. Plus, I'm usually relaxed whenever I'm at the club. Usually...

"Sorry. I didn't get much sleep last night."

"How come? What were you thinking about?" Yuigahama asked with a look of mild concern.

What's with all these questions Gahama-chan? "Not much. I just can't sleep sometimes."

"Yuigahama-san, there is no need to be worried. With his current lifestyle, I'm not surprised in the slightest that he would have developed a sleeping disorder," Yukinoshita said in her usual icy tone before she turned to me. "Maybe you should consider exercising from time to time."

Hey, I'm athletic enough as it is. I bike to school every day, you know. Besides, I kept pace with the Riajuu King himself, remember?

Oh, wait. No one knew about that but Hayama and myself. Eh, I never get the credit anyway, so it doesn't matter in the end.

"Yeah, yeah," I say, too tired to come up with a proper rebuttal.

Just then, I remembered something that had been on my mind since last night. "Yuigahama, is something wrong with Miura?"

"Eh? Yumiko?" she said, making a thoughtful expression. "I don't think so, but why?"

"Indeed. It is quite rare for you to show concern for someone else, let alone a girl." Leave it to Yukinoshita to insult me at every turn.

"I don't know how to put it. She seems... lonely?" I say, ignoring the Ice Queen's comment.

"Lonely? I don't see why she would be. We hang out together all the time."

"Hmm... Never-mind then."

Both of them were giving me strange looks, but decided against saying anything. I took that as my cue to return to my book.

So Yuigahama, who's usually pretty perceptive when it comes to her groups dynamic, didn't see anything wrong with Miura? Maybe I'm just looking too deep in to things again.

With that thought, I put all of my focus on the book in my hands.

After a while, the atmosphere in the clubroom returned to normal.

...

...

...

The rest of our club time went by the same way it usually does. Yuigahama always either talking, or tapping away at her phone and Yukinoshita throwing the stray insult my way every now and then.

Once club was over, I said my farewells, left the clubroom, and made my way to the front gates of the school.

'Bzzt!'

Surprised for a moment at the unexpected vibration in my pocket, I check to see who had sent me a text. Although, I'm pretty confident I already know who it is. Not many people would willingly contact me, after all.

Ah, I was right. It's Komachi asking me to run to the grocery store on my way home. Cheh, what a pain. But, since it's my cute Imoutu asking, I suppose I'll listen. Not to mention the fact that Komachi is usually the one who cooks for me.

Good thing the store isn't too far off from my path home.

It takes me about ten minutes to reach the store. Checking my phone, I go through the list of what Komachi needs so I can map the fastest route through the store. As I grab a basket and begin gathering the requested items, I start to feel something I'm rather used to. Given how often I felt Yuigahama boring holes into the back of my head last year, I can tell when someone is staring at me; and someone is doing just that right now.

Activating my master level peripheral vision, I slowly scan my surroundings. Out of the corner of my eye, I catch a glimpse of gold. Turning fully to the blonde haired individual, I see Miura standing two aisles down from me. To my surprise, she wasn't glaring at me.

Never-mind. Now she's glaring.

"Hikio!" she says in an annoyed tone as she stormed over to me. Hey! What the hell did I do to earn that kind of reaction? Also, what did the floor ever do to you?

"Yo."

"What are you doing here?" she says, putting her hands on her hips.

"Um, what else would I be doing in a grocery store?" I say, holding up my basket for Miura to see.

"Ah, well..." she begins, her scowl lessening a bit as she uncomfortably scratches her arm. "I guess I just figured you were following me or something. I wouldn't be surprised if a creep like you ended up being a stalker," she finished with a slight smirk.

Harsh! But, it's not like this is the first time I've been accused of stalking.

Anyway, what's with the smirk? It's not like me being creepy is an inside joke between us or anything.

"Of course," I say, turning from her and heading to my next destination: Eggs.

"Hey! Where are you going?"

Turning to my blonde classmate, I note that her scowl is now at least twice as intense. I guess the Queen Bee doesn't like it when her pawns walk away from her without permission. I just look at her without saying anything. The silence must be too much for her to handle considering how uncomfortable she looks right now.

"Why'd you walk away?" she says with a frown, her piercing green eyes letting me know just how unhappy she was with my actions.

"I didn't know we had anything else to talk about. Like I've said twice already, you and I never talk outside of the bare minimum required for school."

Her frown deepens as she crosses her arms over her chest; and what is that expression? It looks like a mix of shyness, annoyance, and disgust all in one. I'm flattered, Miura, that you would create a whole new emotion just for me.

...

Actually, that kind of hurts now that I think about it.

"It's not like it's my fault we never talk," she says in a relatively soft voice. At least, relative to her usual bossy, condescending tone.

"Huh, whatever you say. I need to finish shopping; my sister's waiting for me," I say, turning from her and walking away. This time, no one stopped me.

After about fifteen minutes of gathering the necessary ingredients for tonight's dinner, I line up at one of the registers.

"Ah, Hikio again," a dry, yet somehow annoyed voice is heard behind me.

"Hoh, look who's following who," I say as I turned to look at her.

She frowns once again, looking like she was sentenced to life in prison. "Hey! It's not like I had a choice. The other register has a huge line!" she almost hisses at me.

Well, if you were going to be this upset about lining up behind me, you certainly could have cued up in the other line.

"I get it," I waved her off, returning my attention once again to the back of some insignificant person in front of me. I could hear a small huff behind me, but she didn't say anything else.

After a few minutes of waiting, I finally get to pay for my stuff.

"That will be twelve-hundred yen, sir."

Handing the man behind the register exact change, I grab my bags and head out of the store.

'Bzzt!Bzzt!Bzzt!'

Startled because of my phone for the second time in one day, I put one of my bags down and answer the incoming call.

"Komachi."

"Onii-chan! Where are you? Komachi has been waiting forever! Ah, that scored me a bunch of points!"

Jeez... So energetic.

"I'm on my way from the store right now. I'll be home in ten minutes or so."

"Okay, Onii-chan! I'll be waiting, so hurry up!" And with that, I hang up the phone. Putting it back in my pocket, I reach down and retrieve my grocery bag.

"Hikio."

Seriously? This is the third time you've said my name in the last half hour.

Wait! Hikio isn't even my name!

"What is it?"

Miura's eyes narrow and a frown once again mars her face. "Can you sound any less excited to see me," she says in a tone dripping with sarcasm.

"Anyway," she begins, tossing her hair with her free arm, "are you heading home?"

"Yeah. Like I said, my sister is waiting for me." Did you not hear me say that not even twenty minutes ago?

"Oh, okay," she says with a look of annoyance. What do you have to be annoyed about? I'm the one who should be annoyed right now. Stop trying to-

It looked for a moment like she was about to say something, so I beat her to it.

"Miura."

"Y-Yeah?" My stern tone must have surprised her.

"Cut this out."

She tilts her head a bit with a confused expression. "Huh? What are you-"

"Don't feel that you are obligated to talk to me just because we ran into each other. I may be a familiar face, but stop forcing yourself to talk to me out of some misunderstood sense of duty."

As I was saying this, her jaw slacked ever so slightly and her eyes widened. At the end of my words, her expression morphed to one of anger.

"It's getting late. You should head home before it gets any darker."

She looked like she was about to yell at me, but stopped upon hearing her phone's obnoxious ring tone. She gave me a look as if to say, 'you're lucky,' and reached into her purse for her phone. Not wanting to be labeled an eavesdropper, I gave her a nod and turned to walk away. I was going to leave anyway, so it's for the best.

"Bye, Hikio."

In mild surprise, I turn to see her holding her hand over her phone's receiver and looking at me. You don't need to say goodbye to me, you know.

I turned once again and walked away, offering only a slight wave as my own farewell.

After I was a few blocks away, I sighed for what felt like the hundredth time that day, and let my gaze linger on the few visible stars in the night sky. I need to find a way to make her start ignoring me again. It would be one thing if we had already been on friendly terms, but that wasn't the case between the Fire Queen and myself. We weren't enemies, but we weren't friends either. Hell, I don't even know if I should consider us acquaintances. That being the case, it's annoying that she would start engaging in conversation after we met at the bridge early this morning.

You don't owe me anything, Miura. So stop acting like it.

Thinking about it some more, I didn't even notice I had arrived home until I was standing at the entrance to my family's house. Opening the door, I take off my shoes and call out, "I'm home."

"Ah! Welcome home, Onii-chan!"

Komachi came running from the living room with an ecstatic expression. Ah, Komachi, never lose that excitement you get for your Onii-chan.

Eh, on second thought, that didn't sound very good.

As I was carrying the groceries to the kitchen, Komachi trailed right behind me.

"How was your day, Onii-chan?"

"Fine. Yours?"

"Great! But, I couldn't wait to see you, Onii-chan! Ah, that-"

"Oi. You already used that one today. Negative Komachi points."

"Boo. Onii-chan's no fun," my little sister said as she began to sulk by the kitchen counter. I started storing the perishable goods in the fridge for Komachi to use whenever she starts cooking dinner.

"Leave me alone. I'm tired."

"Didn't sleep? What were you thinking about, Onii-chan?" she said in a mock tone of concern.

"Nothing," I said, closing the refrigerator door and turning to my little sister. "When's dinner gonna be ready?"

"Hmm. Does an hour sound good?"

"Sure. I'll be in my room," I say, walking out of the kitchen and towards the stairs.

"Okay, Onii-chan."

...

...

...

I must have fallen asleep, because Komachi was in my room standing over my bed.

"Onii-chan, I was shaking you forever! I thought you might have died!" she says with a cute pout.

"Ah. My bad." I must be more tired than I thought.

"Dinner's ready. Hurry up, Onii-chan!" she says, shaking me one last time for good measure before walking out of my room.

Stretching my limbs, I get out of bed and make my way to follow her. Once in the kitchen, I grab a plate and scoop some of Komachi's homemade food onto it. Taking my seat, I notice that she was staring at me.

"What is it?"

"Nothing," she says with a small smile. "Itadakimasu!"

"Itadakimasu."

After a few minutes of eating in silence with each others company, I noticed Komachi staring at me once again.

"What is it this time? And don't say it's nothing; you don't usually stare at me too often."

Komachi smiled and waved her arms. "No. It's really nothing."

Deciding it would be less bothersome to just drop it, I offered her a small grunt and continued eating. It only took another few minutes for the two of us to finish our dinner. Taking Komachi's dishes, I make my way over to the kitchen sink.

"Let me help, Onii-chan," she says, rolling up her sleeves.

"No. You should go study; you have that big math test tomorrow, right?" She needs all the studying she can get, considering she shares the same weakness to math as me.

"Ugh... Yeah," she said in a dejected tone. "I guess I'll go do that."

With that, Komachi dragged her feet out of the kitchen and up the stairs. When I heard her bedroom door close, I couldn't help but wonder if she was actually going to study or not.

I took my time washing the dishes. I normally hate working, chores included, but something about washing the dishes has always been relaxing for me. Maybe it's because you don't really need to think about anything while you're doing it. Who knows?

When I was finished, I made my way upstairs to my room. Taking off my blazer, I threw myself onto my bed. Almost in an instant, I could feel my eyes drooping, and my consciousness fading away.

My last thoughts were of how I was going to deal with Miura from now on.

* * *

 **That's chapter two for you. I hope you were able to enjoy it!**

 **If you notice any grammar or spelling mistakes, let me know with a PM.**

 **Thanks for reading!**

 **...**

 **-Mystiirious**


	3. Commence: Project Mayhem

**Hello all! I just finished this up, so I decided to post a day early. I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

 **Gold Fibre**

* * *

 **Commence: Project Mayhem  
**

 **...**

"Onii-chan, wake up!"

Grunting and rolling over, I see my little sister standing in my doorway with a bright smile.

"Morning," I manage to say in my dazed state.

"Good morning, Onii-chan! Come eat something, you're gonna be late," she said, making her way downstairs.

Getting out of bed, I scratched my head and put myself on autopilot. Shower, get dressed, get my school supplies ready, head downstairs.

Before long, I found myself at the table, eating some of Komachi's world famous Eggs.

"Bye, Onii-chan! Have a good day at school!"

"Bye," I say in a lame tone. Normally I leave after Komachi, so it's no surprise she left before me. I looked at my phone, realizing it was much later than I had realized.

Damn, my autopilot function must be on the fritz today. I ate as fast as I could, without choking, and put my dishes in the sink to be washed either by my mother when she wakes up, or myself once I get home from school. Leaving the house, I jump on my trusty bike.

It doesn't take long to arrive at school, and I lock up my bike in a hurry. Making my way through the building, I made it to my classroom just as the Sensei was walking in. Taking my seat, I notice a few eyes on me, but the most prominent are a pair of piercing emerald orbs belonging to a certain blonde classmate of mine. Is this how it's going to be from now on; a death glare every morning courtesy of the Queen Bee?

"Glad you could join us," the Sensei says in annoyance.

Hey, I got here on time, didn't I? Deciding it best not to say that out loud, I just averted my eyes from him.

...

...

...

The day went by as usual, with me pretty much zoning out through all of math and science classes. The only thing of note was what was happening right now in our Modern Language class.

"You're going to have a group project over summer break, so take the rest of class time to choose a partner," our Sensei instructed us. Heh, there's only ten minutes left in class.

Wait! _Group_ project? Goodbye summer break...

Looking around the classroom, I see people prancing around in excitement while they were choosing partners.

Noticing some sort of commotion, I turn my attention to the most popular guy in class. Kirito something-or-other.

While not quite as school wide popular as Hayama, the blonde bastard, he was still always in the spotlight. Plus, he didn't have any shortage of fan girls. I noticed a few of said girls with despondent expressions as he walked away from them. With my gaze following him, I see golden drills enter my vision.

Miura's brow furrows a bit as he's walking over to her. She glances at me, my dead eyes meeting with her vibrant green ones. Almost as fast as our eyes met, she averted her gaze back to the approaching student.

"Yumiko, would you like to be partners?"

"Ah, I'm sorry, but I already have a partner in mind," she says, offering a slight nod as apology. "Also, I don't like people calling me by my first name," she says with a bit more intensity.

"Is that so?" he says, scratching the back of his head. I guess even this guy can feel uncomfortable once in a while. But, Kirito wasn't in her clique, so I'm not surprised she didn't want him calling her on a first name basis.

"Oh well, can't be helped then," the riajuu bastard says before walking back to the group of girls he had just rejected. I bet he doesn't even feel ashamed going back to them.

I wonder who Miura's partner is. It's not like she talks to anyone in this class, other than the two background characters from time to time. Even that was only when the other members of her clique were around.

Now that I think about it, I wonder who my partner is going to be. Which poor soul is going to be stuck with me?

"Hikio. You're gonna be my partner."

...

What...

"What?"

"Are you deaf? I said you're-"

"I heard what you said," I say, allowing my irritation to seep into my voice. "Why?"

"Why? Because I don't know anyone in class besides Ooka and Yamato, but they're probably gonna be partners."

Probably?

"So that leaves you," she says with her hands on her hips, "You should be grateful."

This bitch.

"What did you say!?" she yelled, gaining the attention of everyone in the class.

"Did I say that out loud?" I say, scratching my cheek.

"No, I just got pissed for no reason at all!" she says with one of the worst glares I've ever seen on her.

"Ah, my bad. But, that last thing was a pretty bitchy thing to say." Huh? Why did I keep talking? Mouth, you don't need to say everything that's on my mind!

Lucky for me, the rest of the class seems to have lost interest in us. Good thing everyone was still excited about partnering up for this summer project.

"How was that bitchy?" she says, her glare not lessening at all.

"You should be grateful? Seriously, who says something like that?" Hmm, maybe I should have kept that to myself as well.

"W-What?" She says, her expression going from glare of the century to, dare I say it, flustered in a heartbeat. Wow, her facial muscles must be in top shape. "I didn't-"

Before she could continue, I interrupt her. "I thought we already went over this, Miura. You don't need to go out of your way for me; you don't owe me anything."

It looked like she was about to say something in retort, but the Sensei walked in and announced the start of our last period of the day. Although Miura left for her seat, before she went, she looked at me with an odd expression. The best comparison I can give would be a mix of hurt and anger.

She was probably angry because I accidentally voiced my thoughts and called her a bitch out loud. Why she would also feel hurt, I have no idea.

The rest of the class went by as it would on any other day, if I overlooked the fact that I can feel Miura's burning gaze on my back from time to time. Were you really bothered that much by me calling you a bitch?

Once class ended, I noticed that Miura was once again looking at me. As luck would have it, my seat is closer to the door. Also, a group of students have gathered between the two of us, acting as a sort of shield. It was unintentional on their part, of course. Seeing this as my opportunity, I make a dash out of the classroom.

Escape plan: Successful!

Making my way to the clubroom, at a faster pace than normal just in case she decides to pursue me, I begin to wonder what this summer project is going to entail. Hold on! I never chose a partner... Does this mean I'm stuck with Miura after all?

Nah.

Also, it'd be more accurate to say she's stuck with me.

Regardless, this summer break is going to be a huge pain.

Opening the door to my club, I'm greeted with a sense of joy.

"Onii-chan! Hurry up and sit down. Hurry!"

Ah, Komachi. She came by the club two or three times a week. At first, I think she wanted to be a full time member. But, with her blossoming high school social life, she also spends quite a bit of time with her friends. Yukinoshita was kind enough to allow her to be a part-time member.

But seriously, why are you rushing me.

Taking my seat and bringing out my book, I glance at my clubmates. "Yo."

"Hi, Hikki!"

"Hello, Hikigaya-kun."

"Onii-chan! How was class?" Komachi asked in her ever excited tone. How great it must be to always have such a large energy pool to call upon.

"Meh, we were assigned a summer project."

"Oh! So were we. But I don't know why they assigned it this early. Summer break is still a month away," Yuigahama says, adopting a look of mild confusion.

"Yuigahama-san. They likely assigned this project early in anticipation of the few procrastinators out there. A prime example would be that person over there," Yukinoshita says, pointing a finger in my direction.

"Oi, I don't procrastinate that much," I defend myself.

"Onii-chan, you always procrastinate," Komachi says with a bright smile. You know, Komachi, if you weren't so cute, I'd probably cry right now.

After a few more minutes of banter between the four of us, Yukinoshita decided it was time to serve tea. I turned my attention to the book I was holding, allowing the beverage to cool down a bit. It wasn't even five minutes later when I heard a knock at the door.

What is this sudden sense of dread I'm feeling?

"Come in," Yukinoshita said.

The door slid open rather fast, and in came the one and only Queen Bee of Sobu High.

"Ah, Yumiko!" Yuigahama said in both joy and surprise.

"Yahallo, Miura-senpai!"

"Hey, Yui. Komachi, was it?" Miura says, looking thoughtful and a bit apologetic towards Komachi. It's no wonder she wasn't sure of my sister's name, though, as Komachi and Miura have only ever met once.

"Ah, you remembered me!" Komachi says with a smile. Miura offers her a smile of her own before turning to Yukinoshita.

"Can I borrow Hikio for a minute?"

"If it's a request, then I would prefer we all hear it."

"No. It's nothing like that. It's just something about our class," Miura said with a very slight irritation towards Yukinoshita.

"I see," the club president said, adopting a contemplative expression. "Very well, you may use him."

Use me? What the hell, Yukinoshita! I'm not some tool that can be passed around. Although, a certain Kohai of mine might very well disagree with that statement. Speaking of Isshiki, what has the little fox been up to the past couple of days?

"Ah, also, if he tries anything unsightly, please call for us," Yukinoshita added.

"Oi," I say in an annoyed tone.

Miura gave a slight chuckle. "Heh, I don't think I have to worry about anything," she says with a smirk.

What, do I look too pathetic to you that you wouldn't even be concerned about me doing something?

"He may look like a delinquent, but I doubt he'd ever do anything like that," she says, motioning for me to follow her to the door.

But wait, was that a compliment or an insult?

As I got up and began to follow her, I glanced back at the other three occupants of the clubroom. Both Yukinoshita and Yuigahama wore rather odd expressions on their faces. Komachi, on the other hand, was beaming at Miura with a very noticeable glint in her eyes.

But, there's a more important thing to consider here. Why the hell is my sister using that annoying tribal greeting?

...

...

...

"So, why did you want to talk to me?" I say, feigning ignorance. Of course, I had a pretty good idea as to what she wanted from me.

"Ah, right. But before that, about earlier..." she began, adopting an annoyed, yet oddly timid expression. "Sorry if I came off as a bitch; I didn't mean to."

Huh? You didn't have to apologize for that. It wasn't even something that I intended to say out loud, after all.

"Don't worry about it."

After a few seconds of silence, Miura fidgeted. She's probably feeling uncomfortable once again due to the lack of conversation. "Anyway, about our project-"

"I said this not even an hour ago; you don't owe me anything, Miura. You don't need to force yourself to talk to me, and you don't need to be my partner."

I was surprised for a moment. Not from the silence that followed my statement, but by the expression she wore on her face. What is that? Anger? Frustration?

She then proceeded to grab my arm and pull me down the hallway and around the corner.

"What the hell is your problem?" she almost yelled, that unsatisfied expression never leaving her face.

"My problem? I don't have a problem; I'm just trying to mind my own business," I say, removing her hold on my arm. "You're the one who's doing something unnecessary."

"Unnecessary? What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Now crossing her arms, it's clear that Miura is just about fed up with me. But seriously, I didn't even do anything to earn this level of animosity, did I?

"I just said it. You don't need to-"

"Would you just stop with that crap!" she yelled this time. Good thing we're the only ones around, otherwise we might become some sort of spectacle for all to see.

"Excuse me?" I say in genuine confusion.

"You keep saying that I'm forcing myself to talk to you. That's a load of bullshit!"

Bullshit? Miura, was you're father a sailor or something?

"You keep saying that, and you keep saying that I'm only trying to talk to you because we met yesterday morning. You say I'm misunderstanding something? No, Hikio, you're the one who has a misunderstanding," she says in a fast, strong tone. She must be pretty worked up considering her cheeks are starting to gain some color.

"What-"

"You also said that we never talk, but I said it at the bridge. It's not my fault that we don't talk; it's yours."

"How the hell is it my fault?" I asked, once again in genuine confusion.

"I try to talk to you all the time! I have been since we started this school year," she says in exasperation.

Really? Has she been trying to talk to me before yesterday morning?

"You're the one who always pushes me away, or says some stupid one word reply to get me to leave you alone!"

Now that I think about it, a lot of our school related conversations could have become real conversations had I not given such simple responses.

"Ah, sorry. I didn't even realize," I say, looking away from her.

"Whatever," she says in annoyance. She then takes a deep breath and exhales slowly. "Enough of this. I came here to talk to you about our project."

"You're still going on about that? I though-"

"And I thought I just told you that I'm not doing this out of a feeling of obligation!"

"Right..."

"So, give me your phone so we can exchange contact info," she says, extending her hand to me in anticipation.

I was certainly surprised by this; it's very rare for someone to willingly ask for my number, let alone a beautiful young woman.

Deciding it would be best if I didn't keep her waiting any longer, I fished my phone out of my pocket and handed it to her. She typed away for a few seconds and handed it back. Not a second later, her phone buzzed.

Looking at her phone, she smiled. "Good, now we have each others numbers."

"Is that it?"

Miura sighed. "Why does it always feel like talking to you is such a chore..."

"Oi, maybe you were right about it being my fault that we don't talk. But, at the same time, it's not like we would really have anything in common to talk about in the first place." That was a valid statement, after all. Although, I'm not really sure what Miura's interests are outside of school, so I could be mistaken. Who knows?

"I suppose that's true," she said in a thoughtful tone. "Anyway, when we find out what the assignment is about, we should go over what we want to do."

"Sounds good. I've got to get back to club, though. My book won't read itself, after all," I say as I turn and offer her a wave.

I hear her give off a slight giggle at my statement. "See you tomorrow, Hikio."

"See you tomorrow."

As I walked back up to the clubroom door, I can hear the three occupants chatting away. Well, it was likely just Yuigahama and Komachi that were talking up a storm, like usual. Opening the door, I walk in and head for my seat.

"I'm back."

"Ah, Onii-chan! What did Miura-senpai want?" Komachi asks with a mischievous smile and glistening eyes.

"Oi, wipe that smile off your face. It's worrying me."

"Bah, don't worry about it, Onii-chan. Just answer the question!"

"Yeah, Hikki! We want to know," Yuigahama said in anticipation.

Although Yukinoshita didn't say anything, it was clear to anyone that she was also quite interested in what my conversation with her elemental opposite was about.

"We're partners for that project I was telling you about. She just wanted to talk about that," I say, looking away from them and focusing on my book.

"Oh! Onii-chan and Miura-senpai?" Komachi says with a noticeable excitement. What the hell do you have to be excited for, Imoutu?

"Do you two talk a lot in class?" Yuigahama asks with a bit of worry in her tone.

"No. But she doesn't talk to anyone else in our class either. It's probably just because she's familiar with me, or something."

"Or something," Komachi says, smiling at me one last time before moving her attention to her phone.

Seriously, you're worrying me here! Do you know about some plot to kill me? If so, please let me know before its too late.

"I can understand that," Yukinoshita says, smiling at me. No doubt about to drop an insult bomb on Hikigaya-town. "While it might not be ideal to work with someone as rotten as you, you have proven to be somewhat useful in... certain circumstances. Also, you probably won't outwardly complain if she drops all of the work on you."

Well, that wasn't quite the bomb I was expecting. It was one of Yukinoshita's patented insult/compliments. The ones that fill me with a small sense of pride, but also crumble away at my withering heart.

"Yeah, yeah," I say, essentially ending our conversation and once again focusing on my book.

...

...

...

Since Komachi had gone to club today, the two of us walked home together. On the way, she had been talking about random things concerning school and her friends. I listened, but didn't have a whole lot of input to offer her. As we arrived home, we both made our way to the kitchen.

Komachi was gathering things for dinner, while I was washing the dishes I had left in the sink this morning. I guess my mom wasn't in the mood to do any cleaning when she woke up this morning. The life of a corporate-slave was rough, after all.

"So, why do you think Miura-senpai asked you to be her partner?" Komachi asked out of nowhere.

"Huh? Like I said in club, she didn't really have anyone else to work with in class."

"Oh, if I remember right, those two guys from her group are in your class, right?"

Quirking a brow, I looked from the dishes to my darling little sister. Where are you going with this, Komachi? "Yeah, but they're working together already."

Probably?

Komachi smiled. "Do you have to do it with only one partner?"

Thinking back to class, I don't remember the Sensei saying anything about that. However, I do recall that there were plenty of groups with four or five people. At the time, I figured they were all just talking; now, I'm not so sure.

"I don't know..." I say as I finished drying the dishes and putting them away.

"Hmm, maybe you should find out," Komachi suggested.

"No. It really doesn't matter in the end," I say, walking away from the kitchen. "I'll be in my room."

I hear Komachi chuckling. "Whatever you say, Onii-chan!"

Once in my room, I take a seat at my computer desk and pull out my phone. I told Komachi that it didn't matter if you could have more than one partner, but is that really true? Unlocking my phone and looking at the contact screen, I can't help but let my gaze linger on the newest edition.

~Yumiko~

* * *

 **There's chapter three for you.**

 **As always, if you notice any grammar or spelling mistakes, shoot me a PM.**

 **Thanks for reading!**

 **...**

 **-Mystiirious**


	4. Project Mayhem: Phase One

**Sorry!**

 **I know I said I would try to update this story once a week. But, I have a (somewhat) valid excuse, so don't hunt me down just yet!**

 **I ended up getting shingles shortly after I posted the last chapter, and the docs were worried that, because the rash was so close to my eye, I might lose sight in my right eye. So, I was on some intense anti-virals and had to put an ointment in my eye that had the consistency of Neosporin. And let me tell you that Neosporin in the eye is not a very pleasant experience. The whole thing just wasn't a fun time.**

 **Anyway, after I got over that, I wasn't really in the mood to do much of anything; so I didn't. I've finally found my drive again, though, so here's the next chapter. I hope you enjoy!**

 **(But seriously... who gets shingles at 24 years old?)**

* * *

 **Gold Fibre**

* * *

 **Project Mayhem: Phase One  
**

 **...**

It's been exactly one week since we were told to pair up for the summer project. During that time, Miura and I shared small conversations here and there. Mostly just greetings and farewells along with a few 'How are you?'s now and then. But, for the most part, nothing about our interpersonal dynamic has changed.

Including today, we have six more days of school before summer break begins. Today was the day the Sensei who had assigned us the project decided to tell us what it would be about; we were to write a short story in a genre of our choosing. The project would be graded on spelling, grammar, and sentence structure, along with presentation. I wasn't looking forward to that last part; I'm not really a big fan of presentations.

A few minutes ago, the Sensei had told us to separate into our groups to start coming up with ideas and a plan for the project. We only had about ten minutes before the next class starts, but I felt like it was going to seem much, much longer.

That's because the moment the Sensei told us to split into our groups, the class erupted in cheers of excitement. Then, as I turned my head to glance at _my_ partner, I saw that she was already on her way to my desk. Taking a nearby chair, she positioned it at the side of my desk and took a seat, her gaze aimed at my face and a slight smile was playing on her lips.

As soon as she sat down, the room fell quiet. I made a quick glance around the classroom, noting the enormous number of shocked expressions pointed in my direction. Even the Sensei seemed a bit surprised.

"So, what's our project gonna be about?" Miura asked, placing her hands on my desk like it was the natural thing to do in this situation. Um, Miura-chan, do you not feel the ominous aura in the classroom right now?

"Um… I don't really have a preference. You?" I say in a bored tone, trying to mask how uncomfortable all of the stares were making me.

"Jeez, I thought this subject was supposed to be your specialty. At least have a favorite genre," she says with a pout.

Turning my attention elsewhere so I'm not staring at the cute expression she's making, I mumble, "I just like to read. I don't really have a favorite type of book, though."

Also, since when did Miura know that Modern Language was one of my specialties?

After not hearing a reply for a few moments, I turn to her only to see her pout has intensified a bit. "Fine, then I'll choose a type of story for us."

"Be my guest."

"Don't complain to me if you don't like my choice," she says in a warning tone.

"Yeah, yeah. I wont."

Just then, Miura adopted a smirk that seemed to say 'Sucker' before she said, "Romance."

At her choice of story genre, I felt my eye twitch a bit. Romance? Seriously? You want to write a romance story with _me_?

Before I could say anything, though, I turn my attention to the sound of footsteps that are coming towards us at a rather fast pace for inside a classroom. I see Kirito Whatever his name is making his way to my desk. As a side note, he didn't look like he was in the best of moods.

"Yumiko. This guy's your partner?" he said with an almost disgusted tone.

Miura looked at me for a few moments with an unreadable expression before she decided to spare a glance at our unhappy classmate.

"Is that a problem?" she says with a tone of obvious irritation.

"When you told me you already had a partner in mind, I was expecting someone... else. Why don't you come join me and we can write our own romance story. Just the two of us," he says in a smooth tone and with a somewhat lecherous grin on his face. For some reason, that really pissed me off.

Wait a second. I forgot the whole class had stopped their annoying excitement when Miura sat down with me. That means they must have all heard that she wants to write a romance story with me.

...

If I weren't at the pinnacle of lonerism, I might be embarrassed... Just a little bit.

I noticed Miura's jaw clench; she was definitely upset right now. But, before she could say anything, I decided to speak up.

"Oi," I say, gaining her and Kirito's attention. "That's rude to your current partner."

Miura's eyes widened a bit at my statement. What? Am I not allowed to call someone out anymore? Granted, I don't usually get involved in other peoples problems. But, seeing as Miura is _my_ partner, I'm somewhat invested in this situation already.

"Huh? What was that?" Kirito said in a much stronger tone than before. I guess now he's upset as well.

"He said you're being a jerk!" Miura said, whipping her head to glare at our classmate. "Also, I thought I already told you not to call me by my first name," she said in an almost threatening tone.

Yup. This is the Fire Queen I remember from last year.

Kirito, as well as everyone else in the classroom, looked stunned by what just happened. Before the most popular guy in our class could even say anything, Miura turned away from him and said, "If you'll excuse us, we have a project to talk about."

And with that, Kirito awkwardly made his way back to _his_ partner, who didn't look all that happy herself, by the way.

"I was surprised you said something," I heard her say. Looking at her once again, I noticed that all traces of irritation were now gone from her face.

"Well, I can't have him stealing my partner, right? You're the only person in this class who would willingly chose to work with me," I say, feeling a twisted smirk make its way to my face in recognition of how true that statement was.

Miura, who had been looking at me with a thoughtful expression, now turned away with what appeared to be a small frown marring her otherwise beautiful face. For a moment, it looked like she might have wanted to say something, but in the end decided against it.

Noticing that our classmates were actually starting to talk again, the atmosphere began to feel a little less oppressive. Whether they were talking only to try and ignore the small confrontation that just took place, or if they were just gossiping about what had happened, I have no idea. I let out a long sigh.

"What?" I heard Miura say. Now that she was looking at me again, I can see that her frown was replaced by a look of curiosity.

"Ah, it's just that it feels more comfortable in here now," I say, nodding in agreement with myself.

Miura chuckled. "You think the classroom atmosphere is more comfortable after that little episode?"

"It's better than everyone staring at me, at least."

"Oh, I see," she says with a soft smile, "I don't really pay attention to it. You get used to it after a while."

Now it was my turn to chuckle. "Sure, for someone like you. But for someone like me, I don't think I'll ever get used to it."

Quirking a brow, Miura's features began to morph into an almost half sheepish, half irritated expression. "Someone like me?"

"Yeah. Someone popular and attractive," I say, not really thinking about it.

After a few moments of silence along with Miura's deer in headlights expression and the slight coloring of her cheeks, I realized what had just come out of my mouth.

I clear my throat in an attempt to dispel the now awkward atmosphere _I_ had created. "Anyway, why would you want to write a Romance story?" I say, changing the topic.

As she averts her gaze from me, the look in her eyes tells me she's trying to come up with a proper response. "Ah, well... Romance is my favorite genre and since you didn't care, I figured it was a good choice."

"I see," I mumble, not really knowing what else to say.

"So, ah... We should probably meet up somewhere to come up with a plan for this. The next class is about to begin."

"Why can't we just do it before I go to club?" I ask in all seriousness. Are you trying to take away my free time, Miura?

At this, my green eyed classmate once again adopted a pout. I'm almost positive I've seen her pout more in the past week than I did during all of first and second years combined. "No, we need more time than that," she says in a tone that doesn't offer room for any complaint.

I, however, have leveled up since last year. I now have some resistance to this kind of spell thanks to my cute little Kohai.

"It should be fine, right? I mean, all we need to do is come up with a plot and-"

"And what?" she cuts me off, "And you'll do all of the writing?"

I didn't say anything to that. In all honesty, that's how I figured this little 'partnership' was going to go.

"Jeez..." she mumbles, her eyebrows knitted in annoyance. "We need more time because I want to do a good job on this project. I'm not nearly as good in Modern Language as you are, you know."

"So, what's the problem then?"

Her annoyance got an upgrade in that moment as her eyes narrowed at me. "If you do all the work, how am I supposed to improve?"

"Huh?"

Improve? Miura, what are you talking about?

"What, you don't think I would want to get better at academics?"

Before I could say anything else, the next Sensei walked in and told us all to take our seats. Miura stood up and began to move the chair back to where she found it. But, not before saying, "Whatever, Hikio. I'll message you later."

As she was turning to head back to her seat, I could have sworn I saw a frown on her face for the second time today. This one, though, looked quite a bit more painful than the one she showed earlier in our conversation.

Was it something I said?

Also, I had noticed that there were in fact a few groups that had more than one person in them. I suppose Komachi was right. Unfortunately, this left me with some questions that I would rather put in the back of my mind.

...

...

...

After class, Miura seemed to be in quite the hurry, as by the time I turned around from my desk, she was already nowhere to be seen. Now that I think about it, she may have a valid reason to be mad at me. As much as I hate to admit it, I, like everyone else, judge people before I really get to know them. It's a hard thing not to do, you know?

Anyway, she probably felt insulted that I viewed her as someone who didn't care about school. I'll have to talk to her at some point, so I might as well try and think of a good apology. After all, it'll be a very long summer break if I have to do this project with an unhappy Fire Queen by my side.

Making a mental note to have an apology ready before I talk to Miura again, I stand up and set my course for the clubroom. Once there, I opened the door and was greeted by my fellow clubmates, as usual.

"Yahallo, Hikki!"

"Hi, Onii-chan!"

"Hello, Hikigaya-kun."

"Senpai! It's been awhile!"

Yup, everything was normal as I said my, "Yo," and sat down in my designated chair.

Wait a second...

"Isshiki?" I say, looking across the table to see my Kohai sitting next to my sister.

"Hi, Senpai!" Isshiki greets me again with a bright smile.

"H-Hi..." I mumble. Maybe it's because I haven't seen her in almost two weeks, but my normal resistance to her charms seems to need a few repairs. "Where have you been?"

"What's this? Senpai, are you hitting on me? I'm very flattered that you were worried about me while I've been away, but I'm sorry, you'll have to ask again some other time," she said with a slight bow.

This wasn't something new that went on inside the clubroom. Granted, the other three girls didn't see just how often I was 'rejected' by this little fox. But, they've seen it enough to where theyre not all that surprised by it. Komachi just smiled like she normally would while both Yukinoshita and Yuigahama awkwardly looked from me to Isshiki.

"Right. But where were you?"

"Ah! I've been with the Student Council. Some of the school administration dumped a bunch of work on us so I didn't really have the time to stop by," she said with a smile.

"I see," is all I say. Although, if that were the case, I'm a bit surprised that she didn't come to me for help like she normally would. After a brief moment of silence, my sister cleared her throat, gaining everyone's attention.

"So, Onii-chan, did you talk to Miura-senpai about your project?" Komachi says with a bit of excitement. She'd been asking me this same question every day since she found out that my blonde classmate would be my partner for the summer project.

"Huh? Miura-senpai and Senpai?" My Kohai says; her smile turning into a look of slight concern.

"Yeah. Yumiko and Hikki are partners for their summer project. I'm doing mine with Hina-chan," Yuigahama said. However, Isshiki didn't seem to really pay all that much attention to her air-headed Senpai.

"Senpai, is this true?"

"Ah, yeah. Miura and I are writing a story together for our summer project," I say, causing my little sister to become even more excited. Isshiki, on the other hand, gained a suspicious look in her eyes.

"What kind of story, Senpai?" my Kohai asks in a scarily calm tone.

What a pain. If I tell them it's a romance story, they'll probably make some sort of commotion (especially my cute little sister). But, at the same time, I don't really want to lie to any of them. I suppose somewhere in the middle wont hurt, right?

"Um, it's going to be a story about the attachment and intrigue between two individuals," I say, trying to bore them into forgetting about it.

"So... a romance story?" Yukinoshita says in a dry, almost annoyed tone. Leave it to the Yukipedia to figure it out that fast.

"Well, I suppose you could call it that," I say, not wanting to admit it like it was a complete loss on my part. But with Yukinoshita's correct inference of my words, I can already sense the other three girls in the room staring holes into my head. Although, Komachi's stare seemed to be more like she was looking through me, almost as if she were daydreaming about something...

"Hikki. That's kind of gross. Making Yumiko do a romance story with you," Yuigahama says as she scoots closer to our club president.

"Oi, she's the one who suggested it!" I say in my defense. "Do you seriously think _I_ would suggest something like that?"

"Hmm, I suppose you have a point. I doubt your rotten mind would be able to conjure up anything that even remotely resembles something romantic," Yukinishita says as she rubs her chin in thought, as if she didn't just insult me on a deep level.

"Ah, I guess you're right," Yuigahama chimes in, looking a bit more at ease than she did mere moments ago. But come on Gahama-chan, that was all you needed to believe me?

With my pride sufficiently wounded for a days work at the clubroom, I was relieved to feel my phone buzzing in my pocket. Pulling it out, I glanced at the notification.

Huh? A message from Yumi- I mean Miura.

 _[Hikio! Can you meet me at the bridge after you get out of club?]_

I was a bit surprised that she would want to meet so soon after I offended her. But, if what she said was true about wanting to do a good job on this project, then it makes sense. It would be better to get to work on this as soon as possible so we have plenty of time to edit and fine-tune it before summer break is over.

 _[Sure.]_

 _[Great! Message me when you're almost there!]_

 _[Will do.]_

Well, at least Miura sends coherent thoughts. Not like a certain pink-haired club mate's nonsensical messages...

Putting my phone back into my pocket, I finally noticed how eerily quiet it had been in the clubroom ever since I took my phone out.

"Senpai."

"Yes?" I say, feeling chills run down my spine as I looked into Isshiki's piercing eyes.

"Who was that?" she asks with a thousand watt smile; and not one of the cute ones either. It was one of the 'What do you think you're doing?' smiles she gives me from time to time.

"It was... Miura," I say, scratching my neck in an attempt to distract myself from this uncomfortable feeling.

"Oh? And what did Miura-senpai want with you?" Isshiki says in a curious tone. However, her scary smile didn't budge a millimeter.

Looking from my Kohai to the other three occupants of the room, I saw that both Yuigahama and Yukinoshita wore oddly concerned expressions. Komachi, though. Komachi had the most ecstatic expression I've seen on her in quite some time.

"She just wanted to meet somewhere so we can start working on our project," I say. No point in trying to ride the silver lining of truth any longer, I suppose.

"Ah, I see," Isshiki said in a neutral tone. "Well, I should head to the Student Council. Bye," she says, offering a wave to the other three girls in the room. As she reached the door, she turned around and looked at me with a small smile on her face. "Bye, Senpai."

"See you later," I say, offering her my own wave of farewell.

...

Is Isshiki mad at me now?

"Anyway... So, Hikki! When are you meeting with Yumiko?" Yuigahama asked, putting on a fake smile in an attempt to brighten the atmosphere after Isshiki's odd exit.

"She wanted to meet after I'm done with club today."

"Ah! Then we'll need to hurry home so you can change. You need to look good for your date with Miura-senpai!" Komachi almost shouted in excitement. Yuigahama and Yukinoshita, though, seemed to have developed a rather gloomy aura.

"Oi, don't go getting those ideas stuck in your head," I say in a gently scolding tone.

After a few more minutes of lite bickering between me and my little sister, the atmosphere began to change once again for the better.

Soon after, we all proceeded to ease into our normal club time routine.

...

...

...

"Onii-chan! Hurry up!"

"Yeah, yeah," I say as I finish buttoning my shirt. I then put on a light jacket and stood in front of the mirror. My bland looking dress shirt was well fitted, as was the jacket I was wearing. Along with a pair of decent pants and some quasi-dress shoes, I suppose I didn't look too bad. But then again, I'm not all that in tune with the fashion world at the moment. After Komachi and I left the school building and headed home, she had convinced me to go home and change instead of just heading straight to my meeting with Miura.

As I let out a sigh, I made my way downstairs to show Komachi the finished product. As I stood in front of her, her eyes scanned every inch of me, as if I were a piece of art at some gallery.

"Not bad, Onii-chan. Not bad at all!" she said in approval, giving me a thumbs up and a big smile. "Okay, now make sure to be nice. Also, make sure you don't say anything rotten. Actually, just don't do anything you normally would!" my little sister says. I can only hope she was teasing me; but, part of me feels that she was being serious...

"For the last time, it's not a date, Komachi," I say for what felt like the hundredth time since the two of us left the club room together.

"Of course it is, Onii-chan!" she says as she gets behind me and starts pushing me to the door. "Now hurry up and meet with her!"

Finding myself pushed out of my own home, I sighed. Komachi, you can be really stubborn sometimes. Considering it would seem I wont be reentering my house without getting chewed out by my adorable sister, I decided to pull out my phone.

 _[I'll be there in about 10.]_

Having informed Miura about my approximate arrival time, I started making my way down the street. Although it's not as quiet as it is during the night time, it's still a rather peaceful street compared to many others in the area. I really hope she didn't want to go to some ridiculous popular youth spot to talk about schoolwork. The Library would be my first choice, but I suppose there are a few other options as well.

Feeling my phone vibrating in my pocket, I fish it out and open up the message app.

 _[Okay, see you soon!]_

Once again putting my phone away, I put my hands in my pockets and continue on my trek.

As I was walking along, a thought popped into my mind: What is the world coming to? Instead of laying down on the couch or in my room playing Vita-chan or reading a book, I'm on my way to spend my evening with Miura Yumiko, the Queen of Sobu High.

* * *

 **So there we have it; Chapter 4!**

 **Once again, I'm sorry it took so long for me to get this out for all of you readers!**

 **With that being said, I wouldn't expect any sooner than bi-weekly updates from now on. However, I will give you chapter 5 by Friday or Saturday as a part of my apology for being absent for so long, but after that it will be every other week.**

 **As usual, if you notice any spelling or grammar errors, please send me a PM so I can fix them.**

 **Thank you so much for reading!**

 **...**

 **-Mystiirious**


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